


Third Wheel Pretty Boy

by badgerdactyl



Category: Puyo Puyo
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 16:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14216760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badgerdactyl/pseuds/badgerdactyl
Summary: Maguro closed his eyes and began to rub his temples. “Okay, what kind of thing could you possibly need to borrow from me?” he asked, stifling another yawn with his hand.“That’s easy! I just need to borrow your body again!”“Oh, is that all? ★” He stood up and brushed himself off as the gears slowly started turning again. “Wait, what?!”





	Third Wheel Pretty Boy

“And…  _ that’s _ the end credits! Of  _ course _ , I’d like to save, ★” Maguro said with a yawn. “The new Ultimate Utopia game - done and done. Well, excluding the post-game stuff and the side-quests I missed and the ultimate weapons but,” he paused, yawning again, “I can pick that up later. After all, I’ve been playing for…”

As the game finished saving, his heart stopped. He stared directly at the play time number displayed and his jaw dropped.

44:27.

“Almost  _ 45 hours?! _ ” Maguro set the controller down and started counting backwards on his fingers. “Let’s see… I came home and started playing around 4:30. So, it’s about noon now?”

He stood up from the floor, his legs wobbling a little as he walked towards his window and pulled the blinds. The sunlight poured into his room and, rubbing his eyes, he took a minute to observe his surroundings. A pile of blankets, empty energy drink cans, wrappers, a few paper plates - yup, this looked like the scene of a gaming marathon based on the evidence. He folded his arms and closed his eyes.

“I should probably be more concerned about this, ★” he said with a yawn.

His stomach growled in agreement, startling him out of his daze. With a grumble, he grabbed the wastebasket from the corner and set to work cleaning up his mess. As he bent down to toss away the trash, his head felt light and he heard a faint chuckle. He stood upright and turned around in time to notice a swirling cloud of black and blue drifting in from the window. He watched it for a moment, blinking a few times to try to bring it into focus.

“A hallucination, huh? I’ll worry about that later, ★” he decided, turning back around.

The darkness sparkled and swirled upwards, whooshing and whirling around the room until, in a bright flash of light, it popped into being. Standing - no, hovering by the window of the room was a human-shaped blob of dark matter with a goofy grin plastered across his face. “Tada~! Didja miss me, Pretty Boy?”

Maguro turned to face the source of the voice and stared for an eternity. He had definitely seen this guy before, but his head felt like it was full of cotton. Finally, something clicked and he tilted his head. “Ecolo?”

“The one and only!” the blob replied, striking a pose as a drop of drool fell to the floor.

“Ah. Now, I’m scared, ★” Maguro replied, nodding his head. Then, naturally, he shrieked as he dropped the wastebasket and fell backwards. He frantically scrambled away from the interdimensional traveler, stopping only when his back was against his bed frame. “W-what are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood, that’s all. Oh!” Ecolo exclaimed, drifting forward and leaning down. “And, I need a favor from you!”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing major - not a big deal at all! I just need to borrow something from you,” he started, speaking faster and faster, “I promise not to break it and I’ll give it right back!” He clapped his blobby hands together and quivered his lip.

Maguro closed his eyes and began to rub his temples. “Okay, what kind of thing could you  _ possibly _ need to borrow from me?” he asked, stifling another yawn with his hand.

“That’s easy! I just need to borrow your body again!”

“Oh, is that all? ★” He stood up and brushed himself off as the gears slowly started turning again. “Wait,  _ what?!” _

Ecolo drew closer, their faces almost touching, as he explained, “Look! I told you, I’ll take good care of it and I’ll give it right back! You don’t mind, do you? Of course not! So, let’s-”

“No way!” Maguro shouted, pushing him back and making a dive for the kendama resting on his dresser. He seized it quickly, using the dresser to hold himself up as his head felt light. He turned around, holding his kendama out in front of him like a sword and pointing it at Ecolo. “You can’t just take my body, dude!”

“Oh~? Are you trying to stop me?” Ecolo looked at the toy and the flimsy, swaying opponent in front of him. “I don’t know what you plan on doing when you’re all dizzy like that, but if this is how you want to do it! This should be fun~!”

Maguro narrowed his eyes behind his bangs “Let’s go!”

“Puyo Puyo battle!”

 

The battle commenced in an instant as Puyos appeared from thin air from the ceiling. Maguro started stacking them as quickly as he could - Blue Puyos over here, Red Puyos on top of Yellow Puyos over there. He looked over to Ecolo’s chaotic mishmash of colors and smiled. “Maybe this will be an easy win after all! ★” he thought, covering a yawn with his free hand.

“Hey, hey~! Are you bored already? That’s no fun!” Ecolo called, dropping his final pair of Puyo into place. They started popping instantly, disappearing and popping with a dreadful synchronicity as Ecolo chucked. As the chain drew to a close, he leaped into the air, tucked in his legs and tossed a flurry of blue lightning from his hands. “Swindle!”

Maguro’s heart pounded furiously in his chest as he looked up at the pile of Nuisance Puyo growing above him. He placed pair after pair towards the end of his chain, keeping a desperate eye out for a Blue Puyo to set the whole thing off. Finally, it appeared and, just as the Nuisance was about to fall, he slammed the Blue Puyo down and activated his chain.

As they popped and fell into place, he scanned to find where the chain would end. It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely be enough to counter Ecolo’s spell. Probably. “Is that a Repeat Moon Circle?” he thought, clutching his kendama in both hands. With a nod, he tossed it into the air, keeping an eye on the handle and the falling Puyos. As the chain neared its end, he noticed with dread a pile of Red Puyos popping out of turn. “Too short!” he cried aloud, reaching for the ball and giving it another spin.

“L-Lightning Drop!” he shouted, barely catching the handle as it spun back around. The ball narrowly landed on the spike, generating just enough sparks of his own to send the pile of Nuisance back towards Ecolo. He smiled and set to work fixing what was left of his pile of Puyos before his ears perked up, hearing the distinct sounds of Puyos popping and Ecolo laughing. He turned towards Ecolo’s set up and felt the color drain from his face. “Oh, no…”

Ecolo grinned as he swung his hand in the air, summoning a disk of blue, scribbling lights below him. He laughed again as he thrusted his hand forward with a burst of light, shouting, “Lovely Trick!” as the disk ascended, dissolving the light into bright, blue flowers.

Maguro eyed the mountain of Nuisance towering above him. Taking a chance with his counter chain, he tossed the kendama back into the air. As he let go, he stumbled forward and misplaced his pair. Scrambling to start something before the kendama fell back, he dropped pair after pair until 4 of them popped. He dived for the handle, causing the ball to go flying behind him. In an instant, he found himself wound up in the kendama string.

Then, the mountain of Nuisance Puyo fell on top of him.

“Yay~! I won! Phew, that was fun!” Ecolo cheered as he drifted over. With a simple flick of his wrist, the pile of Nuisance disappeared. “Now, I get to borrow your body!”

“W-wait just a second!” Maguro protested, turning himself upright and wriggling against the kendama string’s hold. “You can’t do that!”

Ecolo tilted his head in confusion. “Eh~? I can’t? Of course I can, Pretty Boy! I’m really powerful  _ and _ I won our battle!” He crept forward, arms extended and, with a rush of darkness, burt into a cloud of smoke.

Maguro groaned as the smoke entered through his nose. The smell of fire and ozone filled his lungs and made his already pounding head hurt worse. His head lolled forward as his vision grew blurry and dim. He could faintly make out Ecolo’s laughter, like a whisper on the wind, as the pressure in his head continued to build. His breathing grew heavy, his chest tightened and he closed his eyes.

For the first time in his life, Maguro Sasaki fainted.

 

When Maguro opened his eyes, he saw through his bangs - nothing terrible unusual there, though he felt like he could see better, despite his headache. He remembered the last time Ecolo had “borrowed” him - back when he was trying to drown their world in Puyos. He remembered being able to think and speak, for the most part, but his body was been a puppet under Ecolo’s control, who had tried to use Maguro to stop Ringo from interfering with his plans. It might have worked, too, if Ringo hadn't been a quick learner and took him out before he could fire a single chain. There was a weight in his head not unlike a large cat crawling into his lap and laying down to take a nap - only, instead of his lap, it was his head and, instead of a warm, purring cat, it was a cold, scheming Ecolo. On second thought, it felt nothing like a cat at all.

_This_ definitely felt unfamiliar, he knew that much for certain. His body felt light, almost weightless, and, despite being in a warm room, he felt a deep chill in his bones. His head dropped forward, throbbing, as he rubbed his eyes. Maguro picked his head up and sighed. “Okay - what’s your world-destroying plan this time around?”

He heard his own laughter.

“Huh? What’s going on? ★” Maguro took an uneasy step forward and looked around the room. 

He heard his voice cackle again, saying, “There’s no way this won’t work! I’m such a genius!’

Maguro spun around as his heart sunk. He felt a million miles away as he saw his own body sitting on the floor in front of him. “Ecolo? Hey, what’s the big idea?” 

“This is going to be great!” Ecolo said, trying to stand upright. He stopped, feeling the tug of the kendama string still wrapped around him. “I guess I should have taken care of this first, huh?” he huffed.

Maguro watched, wide-eyed, as his own body, as Ecolo slowly untangled himself. He looked down to his hands and, with a shiver coursing down his spine, noticed that he was completely transparent. “Okay,” he started, taking a deep breath. He rested his head in his chin, hoping it would help him think clearly. “I’m not in my body anymore. I can’t seem to talk either. Well, Ecolo can’t hear me, at least.” He rubbed his temples with a groan. “What am I supposed to do now?”

Ecolo finished untangling himself and looked at the toy in his hand. “This is the thing Pretty Boy always uses, huh?” he muttered, draping it around his neck. “I should probably keep this with me.” He threw his fingers into his bangs and flipped them back and forth. “How does he see with all this floofy hair in the way, anyway?” A knocking at the door echoed through the house, stealing away his attention. Ecolo patted his bangs back into place and, with a few wobbly steps, walked towards the bedroom door. “Coming~! Be right there!”

Panic seized Maguro’s chest as he watched his body stumble down the staircase. “Wait!” he called, running out the door and scurrying down the stairs after him. “Wait, you can’t go down there! ★ I look - I guess  _ you _ look? You look like a mess!”

Ecolo paid him no mind as he unlocked the front door and swung it wide open with a flourish. “Hi, there~!”

From the other side of the door. Ringo jumped back, wide-eyed, and pulled her hand out of her skirt pocket. “M-Maguro! Hi! How are you?” she stammered, putting her hands behind her.

Ecolo smiled widely and replied, “Hi, Ringo! Ooh~! What’s that you’ve got there?”

“Ringo! Ecolo’s using my body! Can you hear me? ★ That’s not me!” Maguro shouted at the top of his lungs, darting between the two of them and waving his hands. 

“This?” Ringo’s eyes returned to their normal size as she pulled a basket out from behind her. “This is just some produce from my shop.” She tilted her head and put her hand to her chin, looking him up and down. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah,” Maguro sighed, slumping his arms back down to his sides, “I should have known that wouldn’t have worked… ★”

Yawning, Ecolo replied, “I’m just fine, thank you! But, I bet I’d feel even better after spending some time with you! How about we go on a picnic together?”

“Huh?” Ringo tilted her head the other direction. “Are you sure?”

“Definitely! Doesn’t that sound like fun~?”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Maguro protested. “Did Ecolo just take my body to hang out with Ringo?!”

“Well, I did pack some sandwiches, too…” Ringo closed her eyes and gave a noncommittal hum. “Alright, we can go have lunch at the park. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great! Lead the way~!"

Ecolo closed the door behind him and the two of them walked away from the house.

Maguro dashed to the end of the walkway in front of them and held out his arms. “Ringo,  _ no_! Don’t go with him!” He braced himself, gritting his teeth, before gasping, shivering, as Ringo and Ecolo walked straight through him. He spun on his heels to grab the back of his shirt and saw in horror as his fingers phased through the collar. He stood, dumbfounded, as he watched them walk down the sidewalk. “There’s no way I can just leave them alone,” he said, clenching his fist and breaking into a dash. “There’s got to be  _ something _ I can do! ★”

 

Maguro quickly realized that there was nothing he could do.

Ecolo and Ringo walked to the park, speaking little and enjoying each other's company as Ecolo swung the picnic basket back and forth. Well, they  _ probably _ were enjoying each other's company. Admittedly, it was hard for Maguro to tell because for half the walk he was shouting at them and fuming quietly behind them for the other. He knew it wasn’t working - neither of them could see, feel, or hear him like this and if Ecolo  _ could_, he was doing a great job of ignoring him. 

As they arrived, Ringo pointed to a small hill under a tree. “How about we eat up there?”

“Ooh~! That place looks great!” Ecolo replied with a nod. He turned towards her and smiled. “Race you up there!” Then, without further warning, he took off like a shot towards the base of the hill.

Ringo stayed in place, folding her arms and closing her eyes. “There’s something very strange going on here,” she muttered to herself.

His heart skipping a beat, Maguro turned to her. “So, you  _ did _ notice something! ★”

She put her hand to her chin and tilted her head. “I don’t want to make any hasty assumptions, here…”

“No,” Maguro sighed, walking in front of her, “now’s the  _ perfect _ time for a hasty assumption. ★”

“Maybe he’s just sleep deprived?” She shrugged and started jogging towards the top of the hill.

“Oh, come on! ★” he grumbled as she passed through him, sending another chill through his body. He turned on his heel and joined her run.

When she arrived at the top of the hill, Ringo noticed Ecolo breathing heavily, seated at the base of the tree. “Whoa! Are you okay, Maguro?”

“Took you long enough~!” he replied with a breathless chuckle. “I’m fine, I’m fine - just really tired all of a sudden.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, taking a seat next to him. “That wouldn’t be because you were up all night playing video games again, now, would it?”

Maguro folded his arms. “I mean, she’s not exactly wrong… ★”

“That  _ might _ have had something to do with it…” Ecolo replied with a coy smile before moving the basket between them. He dove his hand inside and pulled out one of the sandwiches.

“Wasn’t it the new Ultimate Utopia game?” she said, leaning over the basket, her eyes shining with excitement. “The one with the pretty white mage and the really cool-looking shadow thief? You have to tell me - the king looked really shady in the previews: did he really end up as the bad guy or was that just a red herring? Was it someone else?”

Maguro tilted his head, not at the closing distance between the two of them but her overwhelming enthusiasm. “I didn’t think she wanted any spoilers ‘cause she wanted to play it for herself? ★”

With a chuckle, Ecolo put his hand up between them. “Well, I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for you~!”

“Aww, really? Not even a little hint?”

“Nope! You’ll have to play it yourself!”

Maguro stood dumbfounded for a moment. “W-wait,” he stammered, “you heard that? You could hear me this  _ whole time?! _ ”

“What else did you bring in your basket, Ringo?” As she dug through the basket, Ecolo turned towards Maguro’s phantasmal form and gave a wide, toothy grin, sending chills down his spine.

“Like I said, it’s mostly fruits and vegetables,” she said, sitting upright and pulling an apple out of the basket. She looked at it in her hand, glanced over to Maguro, and nodded to herself before taking a huge bite. “Whoa!”

“Something wrong?”

Ringo pulled the apple away, covering her mouth with her other hand as she finished chewing. “No, not at all! As expected of my family’s produce, this apple is simply perfect!”

“Oh~? Is that right?” Ecolo asked, peeking into the basket to grab one for himself.

With a smile, she held the apple aloft and put her other hand over her heart.  “Delightful~! ♪ Delicious~! ♪ S~O T~A~S~T~Y~! ♪ Scrumptious apples are here~! ♪”

“ _ Please _ focus, Ringo! ★” Maguro pleaded, burying his face in his hands and smiling, despite his anxiety. “I really need you to focus here! ★”

Ecolo smiled his own goofy smile through bites of apple and cheered. “Wow~! That’s such a cute song!”

“You think so?” she said, turning her face away and cupping her cheeks with her hands. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “So, I have a question…”

“Go ahead!”

“When you’re done here,” she started, folding her arms, “what are you doing to do next? I mean, I guess, do you have any plans?”

Ecolo sat for a moment, finishing the last bite of his apple. “No, I didn’t really think of anything.” Leaning towards her, he grinned. “Why, did you want to make plans with me?

Maguro grumbled, trying to put his hands on Ecolo’s shoulders and feeling frustrated as they passed through him like ice water. “Don’t you dare! ★ I need my body back, you little-”

“No,” Ringo answered at last.

“Huh?”

“Huh? ★”

Ringo stood up, brushing the dirt off of her legs. “I really need to get this stuff to Maguro, that’s all. So, no. I can’t make plans with you.”

“What are you talking about, Ringo~?”

“Well,” she started, putting her hand to her chin, “I wanted to bring some food over to him. I know he forgets to eat sometimes, but here  _ we _ are eating it without him! Isn’t that right,  _ Ecolo? _ ” she finished, punctuating his name with a point of her finger and a hand on her hip.

Maguro started at her wide-eyed, his heart doing cartwheels in his chest. “Ringo! ★” he cried running towards her, arms extended. His arms phased through her, sending a chill down his back. “Oops… ★ Well, then.” He turned around and stood next to her, copying her point. “The jig is up, Ecolo! ★”

“Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Ringo demanded, narrowing her eyes.

Ecolo dropped his head and chuckled. He stood up and walked over, his voice splitting into Maguro’s voice and his own. “Huh~? How did you know it was me, Ringo~?”

Ringo dropped her hands to her sides and shrugged. “Just a hunch.”

“Aww, what?!  _ Seriously?!  _ ★” Maguro’s hands flumped down as he turned towards her.

Ecolo yawned, his voice completely drowning out the other. “Aww, so we’re done~? We were having such a good time together, though~!”

Ringo took a step closer to him, staring him straight in the eyes. “Ecolo, you need to leave him alone.  _ Now.” _

“Huh? That’s not very nice of you!” he whined, stamping his foot. “I still want to play with you  _ and _ I won him fair and square~!”

“I’m warning you, Ecolo!” she said, bending down towards the picnic basket and pulling a textbook out from inside. “I’m not going to ask you again.”

Ecolo broke out into a full, sinister laugher. “Are we going to play for it?” he asked, ripping the kendama from his neck. “That sounds like  _ way _ more fun~!”

“ _Give Maguro his body back! _ ” she shouted, her voice roaring like thunder. She stepped back in an instant and ripped her textbook open, immediately starting to arrange the Puyos falling from the sky.

“H-Hey! No fair!” Ecolo whined, jumping into action. “You can’t start without me!” He set work, frantically placing his Puyos into piles until he caught up to Ringo’s head start.

Ringo placed her Puyos with lightning fast precision, her chain twisting and turning all over the place. Looking over at Ecolo, she quickly dropped her pair on the side, setting off a smaller chain. “Cosine!” she cried, leaping up and tossing a flurry of sparks towards Ecolo, sending a pile of Nuisance overhead. She immediately set back to work, building on her remaining Puyos.

Maguro watched Ecolo with a sense of unease. Even when keeping a close eye on his method, he had no idea what Ecolo was doing when it came to making chains. As the Nuisance hung overhead, Ecolo slammed a pair down into place and started his own chain, starting alarm bells in Maguro’s head. “Oh, no! That’s a  _ way _ bigger chain! ★”

Ecolo chucked. “You’ll have to try harder than that, Ringo~! Repeat Moon Circle!” The kendama shined brightly, the ball leaving a small trail of stars as it swing idly in his hand. Ecolo looked over to Ringo expectantly, then felt the weight of serval Puyos knocking against his head. “Hey, that hurt! What gives?”

“You don’t know how to do the tricks, do you?” Maguro whispered, smiling as the kendama’s light dimmed. “You don’t know the tricks! ★”

“Eeeh~?” Ecolo whined, starting to build another chain. “Pretty Boy actually swings this thing around for a reason? I didn’t know he was so bad at magic!”

“Hey! I’m not bad,” he replied indignantly, stomping his foot. “I just have to channel my energy through the kendama, that’s all. ★”

“Then, how’s this?” Ecolo replied, finishing his chain to try and clear some Nuisance away. “Swing in!” With a flourish, he swung the ball into the air and watched as it landed in one of the kendama’s cups. Upon impact, the ball let out a small burst of light. “Take that!”

“Well, that’s a ‘Big Cup,’ not a ‘Swing in’... ★”

“Huh?”

“You caught it in the bigger of the two cups, see? To do a ‘Swing in,’ you have to catch it on the spike. So, hey! You were close! ★”

“They’re different sizes?!”

Ringo barely flinched as the single Nuisance Puyo from his failed spell hit her on the head. She narrowed her eyes, dropping Puyos faster than she ever had before, her eyes darting back and forth as her potential chain grew and grew. She smiled as she slammed a final pair down onto the pile, then took a step back, setting her book down behind her. As the Puyos popped, she took another step back then, as the final set disappeared, she ran forward, taking a leap into the air. She spun around, arms extended, as she left a trail of sparkling flowers behind her. “ _Permutation! _ ”

Ecolo yawned, looking at his pile of Puyo and then at the Nuisance towering above him. “Oh, phooey~! I lost. Well,” he said, clapping his hands, “that was fun! See you later, Ringo~!”

Maguro felt his heart freeze in his chest. “Wait, you’re leaving now?! ★”

Ringo floated gently back to the ground and picked up her book. She turned over towards her opponent and gasped as she saw Maguro’s head hung low with a haze of black and blue swirling out of it. She watched as the mist condensed in front of him and made Ecolo’s shape. He turned to her with a drooling, goofy grin and waved to her before vanishing in a puff of shimmering smoke, leaving Maguro’s empty body behind.

Then, the ocean of Nuisance Puyo began to fall.

“Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!” Maguro stood frozen in place as he watched his body collapse before being carried down the hillside by wave after crashing wave of Puyo. He felt distant and cold, unable to will himself to make a move towards himself.

“ _Maguro! _ ” Ringo dashed down the hill before she could finish processing what happened. She switched from a sprint to digging in her heels to stop herself from falling until she made it to the bottom and the mountain of Puyo.

Maguro snapped back into reality after hearing his name and followed her down the hill, arriving as she started working with the Puyos. He watched as she dug into the wreckage, calling his name all the while, until the two of them spotted a mess of purple, floofy hair. Ringo gasped as she seized his body by the shoulders and pulled him out from the debris.

“Maguro! Are you okay?” she asked, shaking him slightly. “Wake up! It’s me, Ringo! Come on, say something to me!”

With a smile, he gingerly placed his hand over her shoulder and bent down towards his body. He reached out towards himself with his other hand and saw a white light, forcing his eyes shut. Maguro felt himself being pulled back into himself, almost like being sucked in my a vacuum. He opened his eyes and felt too aware of everything all at once - the throbbing in his head, the cold weight of his body being shaken around, the pit in his stomach, the smell of fresh-cut grass and apples, the sound of Ringo’s voice an eternity away. ”R-Ringo? S-stop shaking me,” he mumbled, forcing himself to speak.

“Maguro! Oh, thank goodness!” she sighed, relieved, laying him down gently onto the ground. “Are you alright? What happened?” She carefully put her hand under his bangs and onto his forehead.

He groaned as she sat him down and tried to get himself to say something. He clutched his head with his hand with a murmur as his eyelids felt heavy. He struggled to stay conscious as his vision faded, trying to focus on anything to keep him awake. As his eyes closed, he whispered, “T-Thanks. Your s-so warm. ★”

For the second time that day, Maguro Sasaki fainted.

 

Maguro felt heavy - not trapped or compressed, just heavy. Anchored down. Connected. Safe. He opened his eyes and noticed a blanket draped over his body and, with a quick look around, realized he was back in his room. He could hear birds chirping outside of the window and the soft clicking of buttons on a controller. 

“Ringo?”

Ringo, sitting in a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor, clad in spotted pajamas, jumped at his voice, dropping the controller. “Oh! I’m sorry, did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet. I, uh, tidied your room up a little.”

“Oh, thanks! ★” he said, smiling as he sat himself upright. “You didn’t wake me up, though.” He looked over to the screen as she retrieved the controller. “So, what happened?”

“It’s this candle guy!” she exclaimed. “He keeps burning all my guys up and skipping my turn. This is, like, my third attempt already.”

“Did you bring ice spells? ★”

“Ice?” She turned to him and tilted her head. “He’s a fire guy, though.”

“Yeah, but ice works like water in this series. Trust me, he’s a pushover when you’ve got ice spells. ★”

“Rats, I only brought wind spells,” she said, watching her fighter collapse. “You know, to  _ woosh! _ And blow his flame out?”

Maguro chuckled. “You’re too smart for this game. ★” He watched as her last few party members tanked a few more hits before she lost, the screen fading to black. He stood up from the bed and walked over, draping the blanket around his shoulders. “So, that’s not really what I was asking about earlier…” he said, sitting down.

Ringo leaned over and turned the console off before setting down the controller with a sigh. “I figured. What do you remember?”

“Not too much. ★” He closed his eyes and folded his arms. “I know Ecolo beat me in a battle then I think I passed out. I remember waking up and feeling really light - like, I was outside of my body and I couldn’t do anything.” 

“You weren’t, like, a ghost or anything, were you?” she said, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her blanket..

“I mean, I had legs still. Ghosts don’t usually have legs,” he assured her, putting his hand over hers.

She gave a relieved sigh as she let go of the blanket. “Ecolo was controlling you, but I don’t think he was doing anything devious this time. I was able to beat him in a Puyo match but I think he bailed right before everything fell on top of him. Er, on top of you?” She paused, absentmindedly rubbing his knuckled with her thumb. “You fell and got buried. I ran after you and had to pull you out - I don’t think you were breathing when I got to you. It was… scary.”

“Hey, but I’m okay now!” he said with a smile. “You figured out something was up and you saved me - even if it was only a hunch. ★”

Ringo winced, turning towards him. “You heard that?”

“Kinda. ★”

She grabbed both of his hands and leaned forward. “I had my suspicions right away, I promise! Once I figured him out, I didn’t want to explain how I knew - what if he tried something like that again? I didn’t want him to know how to imitate you better!”

Maguro took his hands back and folded his arms. “I believe you, but why didn’t you stop him earlier, then?”

Ringo stared at the floor. “I wasn’t totally sure what was going on. You’re really different when you haven’t slept, you know? Plus, once I figured him out, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to do anything terrible. If I knew right away he just wanted to play, I would have gotten rid of him sooner.” She put a hand over her heart and the other straight in the air. “Honest!”

“Alright, alright! ★” he said with a chuckle, taking her hand. “I believe you. I  _ still _ want to know how you realized he wasn’t me, though.”

She put her free hand to her chin. “Well, for starters, you sounded nothing like. I mean, he had your voice, but not your ‘unique’ style of speech.”

“Huh? ★ I don't get it. ★ What are you talking about? ★” he said, leaning closer with a grin.

She pushed him away, laughing. “Let’s see… I guess the first big clue was that he opened the door for me in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

“When the last Ultimate Utopia game came out, you were holed up in your house for, like, a week straight! You’d barely eaten or slept - Risukuma and I had to break in to check up on you!”

Maguro laughed sheepishly at her ourbust. “I thought this game seemed shorter. ★”

She continued, dismissing his comment, “Knowing how you get, I wanted to check up on you, so I packed a basket and came over.”

“Wait, if you didn’t expect me to open the door, how did you plan on getting in?”

“You gave me a key, remember?”

“Ringo! ★” he whined. “I gave you that key for emergencies only!”

“Emergencies like your best friend not answering his phone for three days?” She folded her arms, her eyes daring him to challenge her. “Plus, when I asked him about the game, he didn’t say a word! You wouldn’t have spoiled the story for me, but I definitely expected something about the gameplay differences or how it controlled. You lectured me for, like, an  _ hour _ once about how the last game was really linear and some of the button prompts didn’t work, so saying nothing at all was rather suspicious.”

“I could still tell you about it if you’re interested! ★ I think this game plays a lot stronger than the last one.”

“I could tell just from the first few chapters! This game is hard!”

“I mean, it’s not  _ that _ hard, Ringo. ★”

She saw the look on his face and smiled. “Difficult~! ♪ Challenging~! ♪ A~R~D~U~O~U~S~! ♪ This game is hard~! ♪ You see?”

Maguro covered his mouth with his hand as he laughed. “Just because you sing it doesn’t mean it’s true, you know?”

“Oh! That was another thing!” she exclaimed, slamming her fist into her open palm. “I sang one of my songs in front of him and he didn’t react! He just said it was cute.”

“Oh? What do you mean? ★” he asked, tilting his head.

“Well, you always laugh or make a joke about it, so that was really suspicious, too,” she said matter of factly.

“Wait, really? I’ve never complimented your singing? ★”

“I don’t think so,” she said, adopting her thinking pose. “It’s fine, anyway. I sing because it makes me happy! And, well…” she trailed off, folding her arms and turning her head. “I like making you laugh.”

Maguro leaned forward. “I’ve really never said anything? Not even once?”

“It’s not really that big of a deal,” she said, turning her head further, her cheeks turning red.

“It is a big deal!” he exclaimed, taking her hand. “I’ve never once said it was cute?  _ Ecolo _ said your singing was cute before I did?”

“I-I guess?” she stammered, covering her face with her free hand.

“Ringo, this is serious!”

“It’s not! My songs aren’t that cute.”

“They’re  _ definitely _ that cute!”

“Maguro…” she whined, taking back her hand and covering her face, her cheeks almost as red as her hair.

“They’re cute~! ★ Super cute~! ★ V~E~R~Y C~U~T~! ★ Um… E~! ★”

Ringo peeked her eyes out from behind her fingers. “Not so easy, now, is it?”

“It’s harder than playing Ultimate Utopia, that’s for sure! ★” The two shared a laugh together as Ringo’s face returned to its usual color. With a final contented sigh, Maguro said, “I’m really glad you noticed what was happening. Thank you for saving me.”

Ringo sighed, too. “It’s nothing, really. We’ve known each other for so long - there were a ton of smaller clues too. I mean, he walked all pigeon-toed and never even once covered his mouth to yawn!”

“Still, though,” he said, frowning, “if something happened to you, I’m not sure I’d notice right away. I mean, it sounds like you basically had ‘The Maguro Encyclopedia’ memorized or something! ★”

Feeling the blush creep back into her face, she replied, “It’s nothing like that! You’re my best friend, so all those little changes kind of added up. It’s like how you don’t notice how much noise an air conditioner is making until there’s something wrong with it.”

“Oh? So, you’re saying I’m like an air conditioner? ★”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she said, folding her arms. “You’re definitely  _ cooler _ than one!” she added, punctuating her pun with a finger gun and a smirk.

“R-Ringo,” he said, lifting his hands to his face, “that joke was  _ terrible_. ★” He buried his face into his hands, hoping they did a better job of hiding his blush than Ringo’s did.

Before she could respond, they head Maguro’s stomach growl. As he removed his hands and stared down in shock, Ringo giggled. “Tell you what,” she said, poking her finger into his chest, “you need a shower. While you do that, I can make us some lunch.”

“You sure? ★”

“Of course! Just give me a shout when you’re dressed. Then, you can help me take down the candle guy. Deal?” she asked, holding out her hand.

He smiled and shook her hand. “Deal.”

As Maguro walked from the linen closet to the bathroom, he tried to process everything that had happened. The cold, lifeless sensations felt miles away as he turned on the water. He felt safe and warm - and maybe a little grungy, but that was nothing that soap and hot water couldn’t fix. He quickly showered and changed into a set of pajamas before going downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Oh! That was fast,” Ringo remarked. “You didn’t even dry your hair,” she mused, giving it a tousle. 

“Just wanted to see if you needed any help, that’s all, ★” he replied, brushing a hand through his hair.

“Well, it’s not much,” she said, gesturing towards the counter. “I forgot you were the better cook, so it’s just chopped up fruits and sandwiches.”

“That sounds perfect. ★”

The two of them carefully packed everything into Ringo’s picnic basket and carried it up the stairs. They sat together in the nest of blankets and made themselves comfortable.

“You ready? ★”

“Definitely. Let’s do this!”

Maguro smiled as he leaned forward and turned the console on.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, all! This is actually my first fanfic _ever_ , so I super appreciate any comments or criticisms you can offer! Thanks for reading! ★


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